2 Question Coaching & Tips
Michael Walker
Empowering Enterprise Sales with the insights to prevent slipped deals and forecast like a boss. Certified MEDDPICC Ninja ??
After years of coaching and observing managers in a coaching position, its rather common to see how often managers can struggle with delivering an effective and EFFICIENT coaching session. Especially in the midst of the chaos the typical work day creates. To boot, I have found that a majority of needed coaching sessions fail to even take place at times when the manager has not had the opportunity to observe the sales persons efforts in full. The feeling can be "how can I give feedback on something I didn't even witness?"
So, let's clarify what our responsibility truly is in the coaching role in order to improve it's effectiveness and frequency-
First, it's essential to understand who should OWN the coaching session. The most effective coaches recognize that in order for the coaching/feedback efforts to be most effective, the employee must be the true owner of the coaching session. If the ownership direction is believed to be that of the employee rather than that of the manager, coaching to events that take place even in the void of observation from the manager becomes simple.
Rather than telling the employee all of the wonderful ways you (the manager) feel they can improve their craft - ASK THEM TO COACH THEMSELVES and simply guide their breakdown of what they think their opportunities and strengths are. An amazingly powerful coaching session can be conducted in just minutes even without having ever watched what the employee did personally. How? Two Question Coaching. It's so easy, so efficient and completely unassuming. The residual benefit of this method is how well it tends to be received by the employee. because you don't necessarily TELL the employee how to get better, it leaves very little room for an employee to become defensive to the ideas being discussed. Try '2 Question Coaching' for a week or two and see how your team reacts to the quick fresh engagement - It's wildly powerful.
2QC | two question coaching
“What do you think went well?” [What else?]
“What would you do differently next time?” [What else?]
motiv tips
- Package it properly [wrap your gift so it will be well received]
- Ensure the coaching session is valid for the performance desired
- Avoid ‘you’ replace with an ‘I’ statement [alleviate defensiveness]
- Speak to specific behaviors
- Solicit ideas from rep, provide additional possible solutions only when/if needed
- End with agreement on action to be taken
- Remember coaching can be purely positive as well
- Make the action items visible – document them
- Repeat regularly
coaching practice
Observing Coach:
“What do you think you did well?”
“What would you do differently next time?”
“What else?”
“One thing I thought you did really well was__________”
“One thing I might do differently in a situation like that would be _________”
Practicing Coach:
“Thank-you “
The End. No more, no less.
To become a more powerful, more consistent COACH who actually delivers results from a team, visit motiv101.com and schedule a free consultation. Our Performance Consultants specialize in developing managers into COACHES who are trained to achieve maximum results. Effective coaching is a delicate subject that typically takes years to perfect; let motiv shorten your timeline.
Enjoy!
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